Mum Ditches Nappies and Holds Babies Over the Toilet or Sink When They Need to Go
A mum-of-five has opened up about how she ditched the nappies and began toilet training her babies from birth, revealing her parenting methods in an essay on Love What Matters.
Andrea Olson, from the US, always knew that she wasn’t up to dealing with nappies filled with poo. So when she came across a post online where her mutual friend said they would simply hold their baby over the toilet when they needed to go, Andrea was excited by the method.
She wrote on Love What Matters : “A friend of a friend posted on Facebook that they didn’t use nappies – they simply held their baby over the toilet or the ground, from birth, and avoided poopy nappies.”
Andrea bought a book about elimination communication (EC), which is a process that involves listening to your baby’s signs and signals for needing to poop or pee.
On the day that Andrea gave birth to her first child, a little boy, she grabbed a potty as soon as she noticed the newborn wiggling and bearing down. The mum held him over the potty like she had seen illustrated in the book until he did a poo.
“I can assure you that I never looked back from that day forward. This was the best thing ever! I dedicated myself to learning my baby in this way, and I am certain I became a better mum because of it.
“I was engaged, connected, and felt like I at least knew how to do two things with my new baby: nurse and potty. For me, that built lots of confidence.”
The stay at home mum explained exactly how well the method worked for her and her family: “We completely avoided nappy rash, medical constipation, endless accidents, unnecessary tantrums, erratic behaviour and bedwetting.
“We’ve also saved an estimated $10,000 ($14,000 AUD) in nappy costs, and have raised our babies without the disgusting task (and smell) of endless poopy nappies.”
After toilet training all of her five babies in this manner, Andrea is determined to help other parents nix the nasty nappies in their lives too.
“All you mamas and daddies who want to know how I avoided potty training and most poopy diapers, listen up! It was easier than you might surmise!”
“First, we do not do EC 24/7 for all pees – we do it part-time, with a full-time awareness. But we always regard the nappy as a back-up, not a toilet. Second, we use a diaper when doing EC – until the babies start to walk.
“We are less stressed. We just stuck with some sort of consistency and supported our babies’ hygiene in a predictable manner, and they all followed suit.”
As wonderful as this method might be for this mum, I am content in my decision to use nappies for my brood of four. I just didn’t have the time to sit around watching babies and toddlers for signs of a poo! But according to Andrea, it could still have been done.
“I own three businesses, have five kids age 1-9 (three of whom are currently in preschool), and own a farmhouse from 1890 (hello: endless remodelling). I work 4 hours a day, at home, and I breastfeed in the middle of all that. The rest of the day I parent, meal plan, cook, shop, wipe up spills and tears, and squeeze in my hobbies and exercise. If I can fit EC into my life, so can you.”
Well gee, I barely find the time to go to the toilet myself, but okay! Sounds exhausting! More power to you, Andrea!
Source: Love What Matters/Andrea Olsen
Using a hand basin is disgusting and very unhygienic. Who wants to use a basin after that display? She should be banned from any public toiletI Does she sit and watch her baby 24/7???? Good luck with a small sleeping newborn.